Euro beaver populations fight back

Beaver populations, 1900 compared to 2021.

After centuries of intensive hunting for their fur, meat and castoreum, as well as widespread wetland destruction, fewer than 2,000 Eurasian beavers remained.

Then came the fight back.

Thanks to legal protection, habitat restoration and reintroduction programmes, the species has made one of Europe’s greatest wildlife recoveries.

Fast forward to today and they have returned to most of Northern and Eastern Europe.

They also continue to expand into Western and Southern Europe, reshaping rivers, creating wetlands and boosting biodiversity.

Well done beavers - onwards and upwards.